Following up on this post, and as the underlying dispute breaks out beyond the election law listserv), I wanted to comment a bit on the “46 dead voters” point in the McComb County Republican party press release.
Dan Lowenstein, writing on the election law listserv (and quoted with permission), believes that my only problem with Trevor was his failing to distance himself from the hyperbole contained in the letter and not with the “factual issue” involving the 46 dead voters allegedly voting in Michigan elections.
I also take issue with the factual claim. I would not be surprised if real certified death certificates were turned in to the Michigan Supreme Court. But that hardly proves that voter fraud was involved. Michael McDonald has pointed out that the most plausible explanation for most claims of “dead people voting” is election administration incompetence, most likely someone signing on the wrong line in the poll book. Here is a nice story from Connecticut where over 100 allegations of dead voters were made, and it turned out that not a single one was proven; but there was plenty of election administration incompetence. And we shouldn’t forget the highly policitized nature of the Michigan Supreme Court.